Are we witnessing today the disintegration of California before our very eyes? The budget decisions the “Gang of Five” have agreed to might be the beginning of the end for California’s world leadership. America has been known to act boldly when we are threatened by global competition. Remember Sputnik in 1957? Can we find the same spirit in 2009 to confront the $26 billion California budget deficit?
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Mandatory Drug Testing for Lawmakers?
A press release arrived today from California’s Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, that read like something in The Onion. It announced the approval of an initiative to require drug and alcohol tests of all members of the state legislature. Among other things, the statute would “prevent a legislator who tests positive from performing his or her official duties or from getting paid until that legislator completes a substance abuse program.”
Fly can practically hear the conversation that led to this effort: “I think they’re all high on glue.” “What are they, smoking crack?”
UC Voting on Painful Cuts
Regents of the UC system are meeting in San Francisco to decide on how to implement the necessary budget cuts for the coming year. The meeting comes in the wake of an $800 million cut in state funding to ten-school system’s budget, compounded by an additional $335 million deficit expected over the next two years because of increasing costs.
They will be voting on a plan unveiled by UC President Mark Yudof to impose furloughs and salaries on 100,000 staff members, which will reduce their pay by 4 to 10 percent. The biggest cuts would be borne by the highest-paid staff members, with Yudof himself taking a 10 percent pay cut. This was unsatisfactory to protestors gathered outside his house this week, who pointed out that Yudof is already earning $800,000, while they are barely earning enough to provide for their families.
The Bus Stop Blues
Do you ever wonder what it takes to move a bus stop? Especially those that are located at busy intersections or located right in front of retail establishments? Well, if you have, you are not alone. My council office gets requests to move bus stops on occasion. Sometimes the request is moving a bus stop that has been in the same location for 30 years, after a the new adjacent homeowner wants it moved. Other times, the request involves genuine safety concerns with bus stops being to close to the intersection.
For example, at the corner of Willow/Meridian, a bus will make a turn onto Willow and then stop, which backs up traffic into the intersection creating gridlock, or causes cars to swerve around the bus blindly.
New Post in the Offing for Ron Gonzales?
Former San Jose mayor Ron Gonzalez has been named as a potential candidate to head the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, a small but highly visible charity that caters to the needs of the local Latino community.
Gonzales had a meteoric rise in Santa Clara County, starting with his selection as the first Latino mayor of Sunnyvale. He later served as a county supervisor and was elected mayor of San Jose with a promise to rebuild the city’s neglected neighborhoods. Seen as a rising star in the local Latino community, Gonzales was tapped as a keynote speaker at the 2000 Democratic National Convention. But all was not well for Gonzales. In the coming years he had a well-publicized romance with an aide and was charged with backroom lobbying. Though Gonzales later married the aide and the charges against him were dismissed, Gonzales left office with his reputation tarnished.
Live From First Street
Over the years, San Jose Stage Company’s annual political-theater event, Monday Night Live, has gotten less vicious in its political satire while amping up sex humor and punctuating skits with F-bombs. Last year, library porn filter champion Pete Constant achieved notoriety by donning a kinky S&M ball-gag. Constant bravely returned to the scene of the crime on Monday with another, slightly less risque, dominatrix-themed skit. But his aide, Jim Cogan, a council candidate himself, showed the lengths to which aspiring officeholders will go for public attention.
San Jose Abandons Class-Size Reduction
When it comes to schools and classrooms, the prevailing wisdom is smaller is better. When you ask parents, teachers, administrators or counselors whether 20 students in a classroom is better than 30 for the overall quality of education you usually get an emphatic “yes.” Unfortunately, the latest California budget crisis has led San Jose Unified’s Board of Education to vote for the elimination of class size reduction in K-3 for most of its elementary schools, on Superintendent Iglesias’ reluctant recommendation.
Horses, Not Houses at Fairgrounds
Now that Cattelus Development has walked away from developing the Santa Clara Fairgrounds, I hope the County will consider something other than housing. Perhaps a fee based sports complex or even…a horse track. Currently, the Fairgrounds is home to off-track betting for horseraces, an operation called San Jose Fair Downs. Since gambling already exists at the Fairgrounds, why then not consider a racetrack?
Conspiracy Convention Raises Web of Theories in Santa Clara
With celebratory talk about the 40th anniversary of Woodstock reverberating throughout the land, no one seems to be bringing up the darker side of that era, especially since August will also mark the 40th anniversary of the Tate-LaBianca murders. Since the Conspiracy Convention 2009 just happens to hit the Santa Clara Marriott this weekend, I think I must probe a few seemingly connected spheres of influence.
Massive North San Jose Development Plan
San Jose’s Economic Development office has mysteriously authored a Memorandum that would permanently reverse 25 years of land use planning in the city.
Billed as an “Economic Emergency Amendment” to the North San Jose Area Development Policy, the memo calls for a massive development of one million square feet of retail space, 2,000 hotel rooms, and 8,000 residential units. The memo is signed off on by Paul Krutko, the city’s economic development point man, and is accompanied by a resolution, dated June, 2009, to be sent to the City Council.
Downtown Needs More Local Restaurants
By Stett Holbrook
Walking down South First Street in San Jose recently, I was thoroughly unsurprised to see that Asqew Grill called it quits last month. The 200 S. First St. location is something of a doomed corner. Zyng Noodles also occupied that space and failed as well. I don’t know the details of why Asqew left, but I wonder if part of the reason was that the chain restaurant simply didn’t resonate with downtown diners.
Goodbye San Jose
This is my last post for San Jose Inside. I’m looking to start my own site in a couple of months (please stay tuned). A quick note of thanks to Jack Van Zandt and to Eric Johnson. I hope that you enjoy my final post.
When I was a kid growing up in San Jose, the neighborhood park was constantly tended to. Every Summer, there was a recreational leader who organized activities and coached the park’s baseball team. Fast forward to today, where you’ll find the park restrooms closed on weekdays, and you’re lucky if the City sends someone to mow the weeds once a month. In his letter to shareholders, Google co-founder Sergey Brin wrote, “I am optimistic about the future, because I believe that scarcity breeds clarity.” I hope that the scarcity that we all now face will finally bring clarity to San Jose.
Real Inclusion and Transparency in the IPA Selection Process
In an effort to move the city out of the debacle of the IPA selection of Chris Constantin, the Mayor and several Councilmembers have been trading memos regarding the next attempt to hire an IPA, leading up to a potential Cinco de Mayo vote tomorrow. But rushing forward with another hiring process before a full investigation has been done on “IPA-gate” would do San Jose a disservice, and leave lingering suspicions.
IPA: He Said / She Said
More on the appointment / resignation of police auditor Chris Constantin. According to the Mercury News, “Campos and Councilman Ash were not informed of the potential conflict.” “‘He never disclosed to me and to other council members before we took the vote,’ Campos said.”
IPA Controversy Won’t Go Away
Even Mayor Chuck Reed himself seems to believe he might have miscalculated community concerns in San Jose’s most recent controversy—the selection of the newly hired, just-resigned Independent Police Auditor.
Over the weekend, Reed finally confessed that maybe he was wrong about hiring Chris Constantin as the new IPA, knowing full well that his older brother is a San Jose homicide detective. “I didn’t think it was a fatal flaw,” Reed told Fly, adding that he is surprised it turned into such a big deal. “After the public controversy exploded, it was fairly clear that it was [a mistake].”
A Two-Tiered Education System
‘Surge of Charter Schools Coming to Silicon Valley, whether districts like it or not,’ was the title of the April 8, 2009 editorial in the San Jose Mercury News. Are we preparing ourselves for the aftermath of the destruction the surge wave can cause our public school system?
